Clicking-die.



T. LUND.

GLIGKING DIE. APPLICATIQN FILED APRA?, 1911.

1 ,1 24,929, Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

I da l nnrrnn s'rarns rngnnr onnicn.

THOMAS LUND, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

GLICKINGr-DIE.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS LUND, a citizenof the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex andState of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inClicking-Dies7 of which the following description, in connection withthe accompanying drawings, is a specication, like reference characterson the drawings indicating like parts in the several gures.

This invention relates to dies for cutting out blanks from sheetmaterial and more particularly to dies of the type used with clickingpresses to die outblanks from upper' leather for use in the manufactureof boots and shoes.

In nishing the exposed edges-of blanks entering into the construction ofa shoe it is the practice to cement yand fold the edge back upon itselfin order to improve its appearance, and where the contour of the edge'to be folded. is curved it is necessary to slit or snip the material sothat it may be turned back smoothly. Heretofore'the slitting or snippinghas been done by hand or by special machines as a separate operationafter the blank has been cut out.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a die by the use ofwhich the curved edges of the blank may besnipped simultaneously withthe dieing out operation.

As herein shown one form of die embodying the invention comprises anopen frame having a continuous cutting edge shaped to form the outlineof the blank and means projecting inwardly from the cutting edge forforming slits in the edge of the blank. By the employment of a die ofthis character the necessity of snipping the blank as a separateoperation is obviated, while accurate and uniform work is insured.Moreover, the dieing out operation is not affected in any detrimentalmanner, and, in fact, the economy of cutting the leather is improved asthe snipping means on the die indicates to the cutter which portions ofthe -blank are to be folded under, thus enabling him to include slightimperfections or thin spots in those portions of the blank which areconcealed in the finished shoe.

A die constructed in accordance with the present invention isparticularly well adapted for use in practislng the novel methodSpecification of Letters Patent.

j a novel manner.

disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 554,319, filed April9, 1910, of which the present application is a division. Thesubject-matter of that application relates to a method of forming upperblanks which consists in dieing out a blank, snipping the curved edgesthereof, and skiving the snipped edge preparatory to folding the edge.however, is not limited in its use to any particular method but is ofgeneral application wherever a ysnipped edge is required or desirable,

Patented J an. 12, 1915.

i910, serial No. 554,319. :Divided and this application mea April 17,

serial No. 621,528.

rIhe die of the present invention,

An important feature of the improved die4 is itscontinuous open frameand unobstructed center, as a result of which the operator is able tosee the stock inside the cutting edge and to place the die accuratelyand quickly 'in position to utilize the stock to the best advantage. i

Still another feature of the invention consists in snipping bladesformed in the die in In order to avoid the in-4 convenience ofconstructing and securing in place a plurality of blades it is proposedto employ material of substantially uniform cross section for the'curved sides ofthe die and to form the blades integrally therein byremoving portions of the material adj acent to the cutting edge leavingprojecting walls which are subsequently sharpenedto form the transversesnipping blades.

In the v accompanying drawings which illustrate a die embodying theinvention and the preferred manner of using the diez- Figure 1 is a viewin perspective of a die'in inverted position for kcutting Blutcherquarters, thevdie having snipping blades 0n its curved edge; Fig. 2 is aview in perspective of the die placed upon a skin of leather in aclicking press; Fig. 3 is a view showing a quarter with its curved edgesnipped, skived f and part of it folded over. i

'Ihe die shown in Fig. 1 comprises an open frame sharpened on one edgeto form a continuous cutting edge 8 and having a flattened oppositelydisposed edge 5 to receive the pressure of the clicking or dieing outress. The center of the die is left free and unobstructed so that theentire surface of the blank to be cut is in full view of the cutter ashe locates the die upon the skin preliminary to the dieing outoperation. The curved side of the dief is provided with a series ofseparated slitting or snipping blades 4 disposed with their cuttingedges in the plane of the cutting edge 3 of the die and intersectingthat edge in directions substantially normal to the curvature thereof atthe points of intersection. It will be apparent therefore that thesnipping blades located on a portion of the die which is conveX towardthe center, as for example, the portions which cut the upper and lowerpart of the front edge of the vamp shown in Fig. 3, will be disposed ina divergent relation, while the snipping blades located on a portionconcave toward the center of the die will be disposed convergently. Thisarrangement of the snipping blades insures that the tongues formed willbe of such shape that, when they are folded back upon the body of theblank, they will occupy the least possible space transversely. Onstraight and convex work, therefore, there will be no overlapping of thetongues, while on concave work the overlapping will be reduced to aminimum. These conditions contribute to the formation of a smooth edgeof uniform appearance in the finished blank.

As herein shown the curved side of the die is constructed of material ofsubstantially rectangular cross section and the snipping blades areformed by cutting or grinding out portions adjacent to one edge thereof,forming a bevel on the inside of the' die. rIhe walls left between eachground out portion are then sharpened to form a series of transverseblades 4. The inner sides or ends of the blades 4 are, therefore, flushwith the inner surface of the die.

rlhe construction above described is advantageous because of itssimplicity and because it leaves the center of the die unobstructed, butit will be apparent that there are other methods of forming and securingthe snipping blades in place.

In practice a skin of leather 11 or the material to be cut into blanksis placed upon the cutting block 8 of a clicking press and the die islocated on the skin with its sharp'- ened edge resting thereon. The arm6 of the press is thereupon swung vertically above the die by the handle12 and upon the depression of the same handle the arm 6 is broughtforcibly down upon the die with sufficient pressure to cause it to cutthrough to the block. The arm is then moved away and the die with thecut out blank removed. A clicking press of preferred construction isdisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 921,503 granted May 11,1909 on an application of Arthur Bates, although others would serveequally well.

The peculiar form of the curved edge of the die and the inwardlyprojecting snipping blades 4 cause slits to be cut at intervals alongthe curved edge of the blank at the same time that the blank is cut out,thus accomplishing in a single operation, at a single stroke, what ithas previously required two separate operations to perform.

A blank 9 cut out and snipped by the die of F ig. 1 is shown in Fig. 3.In the edges of the blank cut by the curved side of the die will be seenthe short slits 13 which have been cut by the blades 4. To facilitatefolding the edge it is advantageous to skive off part of the material,the skived edge being shown at 10 in Fig. 3. Cement is applied to thescarf formed by the skiving machine and the edge is then folded backupony the blank forming a smooth well linished edge suitable for use inhigh class work.

lt will be noted that the snipping blades 4 are clearly visible andconspicuous from the upper side of the die as the cutter inspects theleather through the open center of the die. rIhey therefore'v serve tovindicate plainly that the curved edge of the die may be located so as tocut slightly into imperfections occurring in the leather and' therebymake possible considerable saving of leather.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A die for cutting out a blank and simultaneously snipping its edge,comprising a frame having a continuous cutting edge, a portion of whichis in the forml of a smooth unbroken curve concave toward the center ofthe die, and a series of short, straightl 4snipping blades extendinginwardly from said concave portion of the cutting edge in convergentrelation but yseparated from each other at their inner ends.

2. A die for cutting out a blank andsimultaneously snipping its edge,comprising a frame having a continuous cutting edge, a portion of whichis in' the form of a smooth unbroken curve conveX toward the center ofthe die, and a series `of short snipping blades extending inwardly fromsaid convex portion of the cutting edge in' divergent relation andsubstantially normal to the curve of the cutting edge.

3. A die'y for cutting out a blank and simultaneously snipping itscurved edges, comprising a frame of which a portion is in the form ofasmooth unbroken compound curve with a sharpened cutting edge, and aseries of snipping blades projecting inwardly from the curved cuttingedge of the die, the blades located upon a portion which is concavedtoward the center of the die being convergent and those located upon aportion conveXed toward the center of the die being divergent.

4. A device of they class described comprising a continuous'open framehaving a cuttingl edge and an oppositely disposed parallel pressurereceiving edge, together with separate snipping blades formed inlSOtegral with said frame, intersecting the cutting edge thereof andprojecting inwardly from the curved portions of the frame in directionsnormal to the curvature of the frame at the points of intersection ofthe shipping blades and the cutting edge of the frame.

5. A device of the class described comprising an open frame having acontinuous cutting edge and an oppositely disposed parallel pressurereceiving edge, together with snipping blades having straight cuttingedges each arranged to intersect the cutting edge of the frame atsubstantially right angles and being supported by the sides of saidframe between the cutting edge and the lpressure receiving edge thereof.

6. A die of the class described comprising a frame sharpened for cuttingat its lower edge, a curved portion of the frame being constructed oflmaterial of substantially rectangular cross section beveled on one sideto form the cutting edge and having formed therein snipping blades theinner ends of which are substantially7 Hush with the inner surface ofthe die material. y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS LUND.

Witnesses:

ELMER B. GRUSH, CHARLES E. GRUsH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

